Huskies storm back, take down #11 SMSU 3-1

Friday, October 25

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

15-5,7-5NSIC

Southwest Minnesota State

13-7,7-5NSIC

Southwest Minn. St.

St. Cloud St.

Halle Hughes comes up with a solo block in the Huskies win over #11 SMSU.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

10/25/2019 8:54:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It was exactly the result the St. Cloud State University volleyball team needed. A win.

After dropping two matches last weekend, the Huskies returned to Halenbeck Hall with one goal in mind: get back in the win column. That was exactly what St. Cloud State did in dramatically wonderful comeback fashion. After dropping the opener 25-21, the Huskies stormed back to beat #11 Southwest Minnesota State University 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23), improving to 16-4 on the season with an 8-4 mark Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play.

The first set started off well for the Huskies, as they jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead thanks to strong serving and offense. However, like last weekend, the team ran into some issues on serve receive, allowing the Mustangs to crawl back into the set and tie things up at 5-5. From that point on, SMSU always managed to stay two or more points ahead of St. Cloud State, eventually extending its lead to 16-12 midway through the set.

The Huskies were certainly not down for the count, as two aces from Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) tied the set at 16-16. However, late missed serves proved costly for St. Cloud State, as Southwest Minnesota State jumped head 21-18 late in the set. Though the Huskies rallied, it was a bit too late, as the Mustangs took the first set by a final score of 25-21.

The late rally, though, seemed to put a spark in the team's step, as St. Cloud State opened the second with an ace from Olstad and an early 3-1. Like in the first, though, SMSU used strong serving to tie the match and regain a seemingly sizeable lead to 8-5. And again, like in the first set, the Huskies found their way and regained a 9-8 lead, this time with strong serves from Halle Hughes (Mankato, Minn. / Mankato West) and four consecutive kills from Chloe Dousette (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall).

From that point on, the two teams traded points until St. Cloud State went on a run of its own to gain its first substantial lead at 17-14. While the Mustangs managed to win a handful of points after that, the Huskies offense, specifically Dousette and Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) proved too much for SMSU, as St. Cloud State evened the match at one set a piece with a 25-20 second set victory.

The third set was the most dominant of the night for the Huskies, as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back, winning 25-20 on a kill from the middle by Hughes. Despite the dominant third set win, though, St. Cloud State found itself in an early 8-6 deficit in the fourth, as SMSU's scrappy play took away several kills for the Huskies offense. As it had all night, though, St. Cloud State battled its way back, tying the set 8-8 before rallying again to tie things up at 12-12 with an ace from Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul).

The Mustangs managed to stay at least two points ahead of the Huskies from that point on, taking a 19-17 lead in the late stages of the set. Again, St. Cloud State came back to even the score thanks to strong serves from Olstad and a kill from Rachel. A huge block by Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) and Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) gave the Huskies the late lead at 20-19, but the match seemed destined for a fifth set, as SMSU rattled off three straight points to take a 22-20 lead.

St. Cloud State was not about to go down quietly, as Rachel put the team on her back and delivered a monster kill, cutting the lead to 22-21. Krenz then recorded her second ace of the night to tie the set at 22-22, but the Mustangs took the next point to go up 23-22.

That was when it happened. SMSU committed its eleventh service error of the night, tying the set at 23-23. That was all the Huskies needed to clinch the set, as Rachel secured match point with a monster kill from the outside before Hughes and Dousette clinched it at 25-23 with a clutch block.

Rachel was unstoppable offensively, as she recorded a team and match-leading 18 kills on the night and added 13 digs for yet another double-double this season. Dousette recorded a career-high 13 kills, while Torve piloted the offense to 51 kills, 44 of which she assisted on.

Krenz was once again the team's top defensive player, recorded 16 digs to go with her two aces. Olstad was a force to be reckoned with as well, as she led St. Cloud State to its third match with 10+ aces this season with four of her own.

With the win, the Huskies overall record improves to 16-4 and they are now 8-4 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to action on Saturday, when the team hosts (RV) Sioux Falls at 2 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.